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Delbosco is the World Champion in Ski Cross

05 February 2011 09:00

It was the first major event title for Del Bosco, who was just off the 2009 World Championship and 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver podium finishing fourth. He was joined by silver medalist Jouni Pellinen of Finland and bronze medalist and Andreas Matt of Austria, the defending World Champion.

Del Bosco, who was fourth at both the 2009 worlds and 2010 Olympics, said he was beginning to wonder “about these big one-time events. I was just looking for a little change here.”

That fastest qualifier among the 32 men who moved to heat racing, Del Bosco won his opening heat and his quarter-final unchallenged and was a safe second behind Tomas Kraus of the Czech Republic in the semifinal.

In the final, he found himself second behind Andreas Matt of Austria. But passing is one of his strengths — he’s not afraid to sit right on the tail end of someone’s skis — and he saw his opportunity in the third corner.

“I knew there was a couple of sections where he was kind of leaving the door open. I got a bit of a draft, he pulled out to go on that high line and I just shot right around him and hung onto it.”

Del Bosco said watching Serwa and Murray start so well and then go 1-2 was a big boost.

“We were in the start … and we got the call they went 1-2. That was huge. Then I didn’t want to let anyone down.”

Del Bosco commanded the race from start to finish, jumping out to the lead and never relinquishing it.